The Earth and the Moon
by shadowmaat
Summary: Beth suspected there was more to Kevin than people suspected, but she never guessed how much, or what a man with limited speech would do to show someone how he felt. (Another pre-Space Core fic. Pure fluff. Inspiration drawn from Rael Linford of the Geekenders)


In a facility as vast as Aperture, Beth was little more than a very tiny cog in a very large wheel, but she was content. The pay was good, and as a typist she didn't get involved in some of the hinkier things rumored to be going on. She'd made a few friends and created one or two enemies and then… there was Kevin Ramsey.

The secretarial pool had more or less adopted him as their own and it wasn't uncommon for him to join them for lunch. Most of them treated him like an overgrown puppy or, in Tabby's case, like a side of beef. Rumor was that he'd suffered some form of brain damage during an experiment and that's why he could only say "space" or space-related words. That seemed weird even by Aperture standards, but at first Beth joined the others in pitying him. Except… the details didn't quite add up.

She started watching him and yes, he could be overly energetic and didn't always tone his voice down, but conversational handicaps aside, he seemed pretty smart. He rotated through the group so no one felt left out and someone started an argument he usually managed to find a way to distract everyone. He also had an uncanny knack for avoiding Tabby.

Deciding to try an experiment of her own Beth caught up to him in the hall one day. "Hey, Kevin."

"Space!" He smiled at her.

"Yeah, speaking of space…" She smiled. "I was wondering if you knew about the eclipse tonight."

Kevin stopped short and stared at her, his eyes a lot more focused than they had been a minute ago. "Eclipse? In space?"

"A lunar eclipse. Tonight." She tilted her head, studying him. "I figure a big space guy like you probably knows all about that stuff, but I know _I've_ forgotten important things sometimes so I just thought I'd remind-" She broke off as he rested his hands on her shoulders.

"Best space lady," he said, and pulled her into a rib-crushing hug.

She laughed, returning the hug before stepping back. "You're welcome, Kevin. See you tomorrow at lunch? You can tell me all about it."

He nodded with such enthusiasm she was afraid his head would fall off. With a wave, she headed back to her cubicle, pleased with the idea that she might have been able to impress him.

As she entered the cafeteria the next day she saw Kevin had beaten her there. He'd also adjusted his usual pattern so that he wound up sitting next to her spot. More proof that she was right about him being smarter than the others though.

"Good afternoon, Kevin." She sat beside him. "Did you enjoy the eclipse last night?"

"Moon," He agreed. "Gibbous, quarter, crescent, new moon. Dark."

It was more than what he usually said. Beth smiled. "It looked a little creepy during the dark part, don't you think? Almost reddish."

Astronomy wasn't something she had a lot of interest in, but she'd felt obligated to watch this time and had to admit it was kinda fun.

Kevin shook his head. "Beautiful. Beautiful moon." He tucked his chin close and looked at her from the corner of his eyes, smiling.

"Well, yeah, it's beautiful, too."

He nudged his chair back and handed her the book he'd been holding in his lap. She giggled.

"An Introduction to Space? For me?"

About that time the others started noticing them. Kevin switched to Silly Mode and that was the end of the conversation, such as it was. She paged through the book when she had time later on and found some interesting notes- and a few funny sketches- scribbled in the margins.

She started encountering him more often after that. It couldn't have been a coincidence, but she had no idea how he managed it. He even managed to be on the elevator when she had to take a box of files up to the head office. They chatted when they could, discussing things from the book he'd given her and whatever seemed to be of spacey relevance. She even told him how much she liked his cartoons and got to see him blush.

It went on like that for a few months and had even graduated to occasional cups of coffee shared during breaks. He was still a little on the simple side- or maybe uncomplicated was a better word- but he wasn't the idiot everyone seemed to think. Beth liked him. There were none of the hidden agendas so many of the others seemed to have and none of the crass jokes, either. He was unfailingly polite and seemed to be happy all the time.

If she had to pinpoint when the trouble started, she'd have guessed it was on his birthday. She'd made up a batch of star-shaped cookies for him, covered in yellow glaze. It was a little silly, she knew, but he had a sweet tooth and she thought he'd appreciate them. There had been more, of course. She'd also given him a video tape of a show about the solar system, but it was the cookies that worried her. He'd given her the strangest look before tucking the gifts in the pockets of his lab coat. He mentioned stars a couple of times, gave her another crushing hug, and left.

Their visits became less frequent after that. He still joined the group for lunch sometimes- although not as often- and he always smiled when he saw her, but there was a distance now. A distraction. It hurt a lot more than she expected. She tried apologizing to him a couple of times, but he always shook it off, reassuring her that she was the Best Space Lady before he went on his way.

Beth resigned herself to having lost one of her best friends when he showed up at her table during coffee break.

"Space!" He was bouncing in place, grinning from ear to ear.

She blinked up at him. "Kevin? Is everything OK?"

A dumb question, but after avoiding her for so long his sudden reappearance caught her off guard.

"Space!" He pointed at the door. "Secret space mission!"

Hope stirred in her chest. "Secret space mission, huh? I guess I'd better come along, then."

She followed him down various corridors, trying to keep a mental map so she could find her way back again. He seemed to think she was going to slow because he caught her hand and all but dragged her the rest of the way.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" She laughed. This… this silliness was one of the many things she'd been missing.

He stopped in front of a nondescript door, releasing her hand and giving her his most severe look. "Special space secret." He mimed covering his eyes.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "A surprise, huh? This better not be anything scary." She covered her eyes and heard the door open and then he was guiding her into the room beyond. It was very dark, wherever they were. The door clicked behind them and she let him position her at whatever crucial point he felt was necessary.

"Ignition in 3… 2… 1…"

She opened her eyes and found herself in space. She turned in a circle, staring. There had to be hundreds of little lights scattered throughout the room. A glowing orange ball in one corner appeared to be the sun and there were planets hanging from the ceiling panels, too. Kevin came up behind her.

"Space," he whispered.

"Space," she agreed, turning her head to look at him. "Kevin, this is… this is incredible! You did all this?"

His teeth gleamed in simulated starlight. "All space."

"Wow." Beth couldn't stop staring. Maybe there was a reason to go a little crazy for this stuff.

He turned her around, resting his chin on her shoulder before sighting along his arm to point out a group of stars. "Orion."

"...You included the constellations." She tried to turn her head again and brushed her cheek against his. The arm that wasn't being used to navigate slipped around her waist to steady her. Her legs did feel a bit weak all of a sudden.

"Big Dipper," he murmured, pointing out another constellation.

She nodded, searching until she found one on her own. "And that's Pegasus, right?" She pointed.

"Mmm." He hugged her and she noticed she was feeling a lot warmer. And smiling

"Kevin…" She pulled free, turning to look at him again. "This is… I don't think I even have words for it."

"Space?"

She laughed. "Yes, space. And space and more space. It's amazing. I… thank you so much for sharing this with me."

Kevin was shaking his head. "Space for Space Lady."

"For- for me?" She was sure she must have misunderstood.

Kevin pressed a hand to his chest. "Earth." He pointed at her. "Moon." He gestured at the room. "Space."

Her smile was slow as she caught on. "We're in space together. Yeah."

He stepped closer, one hand resting on her waist while the other found her shoulder. "Space dance?"

She copied his stance, awkward for the first few steps until she caught the rhythm of it. "This is a very erratic orbit, Mr. Earth."

Laughing, he spun her around.

Her cheeks were burning and she was overwhelmed by… everything. Kevin had done this for her? Why? At least it explained why he hadn't been around much lately. He hadn't been offended, he'd been busy. She was about to rest her head on his chest when he stopped dancing. She glanced up, feeling a fresh twinge of guilt. What had she been thinking?

Kevin's hand moved from her shoulder to her cheek. "Moon Lady." There was nothing manic about his smile, now. It was soft and… hopeful? "Earth Man." He started to lower his head towards hers, then hesitated. "S-space dock? Go/no go?"

He was going to kiss her. He was going to kiss her and she was an idiot. Everything had been leading up to this and she hadn't seen it. No, she _had_ seen it, but dismissed it because it was Kevin. Kevin, who wasn't as simple as people thought and who was clearly more complicated than she'd imagined. Kevin who'd given her a piece of the thing he loved best to show her how he felt.

"Go." She lifted her head to meet his. Their lips brushed and then they were kissing. In space. Space kisses. _Yes_.


End file.
